How to use Google Play Services and how they work

We tell you how to use Google Play Services on your phone to make the most of them and exactly how they work so you know how to use them correctly

You don’t have to do anythingat all to use Google Play Services; simply make sure that the app is installed on your phone; despite its name, it is like any other app. Google Play Services is a system app that works opaquely in the background providing all its functions without the need for you to interact with it. In fact, it doesn’t even have an interface or access icon. At most, the operating system will require you to grant it permissions when installing new apps or performing other activities that require its functions, but that is all.

Google Play Services is pre-installed on any phone equipped with the Google Play Store and other Google ecosystem apps, such as Gmail and Google Maps, and is essential for the device and its services to work properly. All you have to do is set up your phone using a Google account.

As it works as an intermediary between installed apps and Google in the background, this app easily integrates many of the services it offers, such as checking for updates. When setting up a phone for the first time, you will be asked for a Google account. From that moment, Google services are activated to offer the best possible user experience.

At the development level, Google services are a great advantage since they let developers take advantage of their full potential by integrating them into their apps and making changes while making sure that the operating system functions properly and there are no compatibility issues. This, in turn, translates into longer life expectancy for users' phones as it delays obsolescence.

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